A/N: Hey guys, sorry this has taken so long. It's finals week at school and final projects, a play and a dance recital were all going on last month. But I'm going to make it up to you with two chapters tonight. Enjoy!

Hardison and Parker were waiting outside the Library with patient looks on their faces. It was eight o'clock in the morning and they were both trying to look natural. Many of the locals of course seemed to think that meant a freak show for them because they were staring so much. Hardison had to stop Parker from stealing five times. Unfortunately he also missed the amount of wallets she lifted until it was already too late.

"Do you think Nate is going to let us take down Sophie's sister?" Parker asked after a moment.

"If she's really Sophie's sister," Hardison huffed.

"You don't think she's Sophie's sister?" Parker asked.

"Sophie would do anything to protect us from her past, Parker," Hardison cried, "Including lie. Plus she might have been saying she was the mayor's sister just to get us an easy in.

"I don't think she was lying," Parker said, shaking her head. "And Nate definitely doesn't think she was lying. Their fight must have been very bad last night. He left and Sophie was crying."

"Sophie doesn't cry," Hardison replied. Then he took a moment to think about his words. "You heard Sophie crying and you didn't tell me?"

"I would have but that Granny woman wouldn't let me anywhere near your room," Parker explained, "I swear that woman has wolf ears or something. She caught me every time I tried to sneak out. She even met me outside when I tried through the window. Maybe she used to be a thief like Archie!"

"I don't think Granny was a thief like your mentor, Parker," Hardison sighed, "Damn!"

"What?" Parker asked her voice suddenly very soft and very child-like.

"I hope we don't have to take down Sophie's sister," he said.

Before the thief could even think of a good answer a bright red truck popped right up in front of them. Both doors opened to reveal David Nolan, the temporary sheriff as he introduced himself, and Henry Mills, Sophie's apparent long lost nephew.

"I asked you to meet me at Granny's," Nolan said staring at the two of them with disbelief.

"We had to make sure we were safe, man," Hardison replied, "Can't be too careful nowadays."

"Just because you're thieves doesn't mean I'm going to arrest you," Nolan replied guessing their reasons correctly, "I don't have that kind of authority. I can arrest you for any crimes you do in this town but I cannot arrest you for crimes outside of it."

"Since he's Sophie's nephew, does that mean we get to play with him?" Parker asked a childish grin spreading across her face with eager anticipation.

Nolan stared at her, his mouth agape. At first Hardison thought it was because of what she said to him about the kid. He soon realized that wasn't the case when his eyes started to sparkle. The temporary sheriff had a slight happy smile on his lips and he looked on the verge of tears. He took a couple steps out of the road, closer to Parker. He lifted his hand as if to touch her and quickly placed on the boy's head beside him.

"I'm afraid that's not possible," Nolan explained, his voice filled with a mixture of emotion the hacker didn't even want to think about at the moment. "Henry is my charge and I don't want to take the chance that you guys are lying about your intentions here. Now I'll help you in whatever way necessary but I will not allow you to interfere with the lives of the citizens of this town. Any wrong move and I will arrest you all, do you understand?"

"Loud and clear as diamonds!" Parker said, saluting as she spoke. Her voice held a little extra cheeriness compared to usual. Then she quickly gave the temporary sheriff a sniff and smiled when he looked at her strange. She turned towards the hacker and quickly whispered, "He smells familiar like mahogany, oak and white pine. It doesn't smell like the forest here at all. Isn't that weird?"

Hardison rolled his eyes at the thief's behavior and tried not to think too much about the way she was acting. She seemed to be more at home in this town than anywhere else before. Even David Nolan didn't seem to faze her. She actually liked him too which was weird. She didn't warm up to people that easily. Clearly, the grifter's past wasn't the only thing going on here.

"Now I had to pull a lot of strings in order to get you guys as much privacy as possible," Nolan explained, "You have full access until noon. After that you will have to deal with the public and whatever questions they may have for you."

Then he turned on the light and revealed the rows and rows of bookcases they would have to work through. Everything was sectioned off specifically to the type of resource they would need. The town files were in the back and the town history was in the front. Their computer database looked older than the dinosaurs themselves too. It was going to take more than the whole morning to find what they were looking for.

"Periodicals are upstairs in the back," Nolan reported, "Those are actually the biggest pile so I suggest you start with those. Everything else is completely at your disposal though I doubt you will need it. If you have any questions or need help our Librarian, Belle, has graciously agreed to assist you."

"Okay," Hardison nodded grabbing his notebook and the list of things they would need. "Parker, you get the periodicals while I get everything else."

"Consider it done," Parker grinned rushing towards the stairs with a merry skip in her step.

Hardison watched the thief disappear with an appreciative gaze. He smile at her child-like wonder and quickly commented on it. "She loves her work," he said.

"I'm going to go look for some books too," Henry told his grandfather with a wink.

"Hold up," Hardison called, "We appreciate it little buddy but we don't need your help."

"Actually I was going to go to the fiction section," Henry replied. Then he was off, disappearing into the section of his choice without a second look back.

"Cool kid," Hardison shrugged.

"He's interested in finding out everything he can in Robin Hood," Nolan explained, "The kid could use a distraction considering you're investigating his mom and everything."

"Well," Hardison shrugged, "We don't really know if we're still investigating much of anything. The only thing we know is…"

"We're just here so Nate can learn everything he can about Sophie!" Parker chimed. Then she immediately dropped a whole bunch of newspapers onto the table. And a big book with beaten worn pages. "I also found that book Henry was looking for if he's interested."

"Thanks Parker," Henry exclaimed coming out of nowhere and snatching up the book as quickly as possible. He was gone again in an instant, pouring through the old book with avid fascination.

"I wonder why he's so excited about some book," Parker tilted her head to the left in confusion.

"Some people enjoy reading in their free time, Parker," Hardison sighed.

"Right, I knew that."

%

"Hardison and Parker are in the library," Eliot reported.

He was in his truck watching the temporary sheriff get into his truck with the kid. Nolan and Henry seemed completely unaware of him and that was exactly what he wanted.

"Nolan and the kid are taking off," he finished.

"Okay," Nate nodded. He was still in his room at Granny's with Sophie. He refused to let her out of his sight now. It was kind of disturbing. "Be subtle when you follow them and don't go to the police station. If that's where they're heading then go to the store and pick up some beer. I'll pay you back when you get here."

"Don't you think it's a bit early for that," Sophie complained.

"Don't you think you should have told me we were going after your sister," the mastermind replied.

"I'm going off coms now," Eliot interrupted the fight while he still could. "I'll fill you in when I'm finished. Have a nice fight!"

He pulled the earbud out but not in time for the shriek. The mastermind and grifter were going to kill each other over this. It was disappointing but nothing too big. They would work it out eventually. Right now the hitter had bigger fish to fry.

He pulled the car out of its parked position and cautiously followed the temporary sheriff around town. Just as the mastermind guessed, it was not the police station they ended up going to. No, they were paying a lovely visit to the Mayor's mansion. Eliot was finally going to see what Sophie's sister looked like and exactly what kind of a person she really was.

He parked at the end of the street and quickly took out the mirror of his rental. Then he took out a tail light for good measure. He placed the bat he used back into the backseat and took a deep breath. He grabbed up a pen and a notepad. The sheriff's vehicle was gone when he was finally through. So he smiled at his own talent and started towards the door.

The walk was long and awkward as eyes started staring at him in confusion. No, it wasn't confusion. The citizens were staring at him as if he was the enemy, a vile vicious evil brought upon them. Parents were even pushing their children away from the Mayor's house and him. He understood the moment he was close enough to the property. An evil aura hit him in full force the moment his foot stepped into the yard. It didn't make any sense considering the beauty of the property, but evil was definitely there.

Eliot Spencer knocked on the door and tried to ignore the creepy feeling crawling up his back. The door opened almost instantly. The woman had big black eyes and short brown hair. She was a skinny little rake of a woman and the perfect image of what he had always imagined Sophie's sibling would look like. She even had the grifter's high cheek bones.

"Can I help you?" She asked.

"Yeah," Eliot smiled uncertainly. That creepy evil feeling was suddenly very overwhelming. It was like it was coming from her. "Some idiot took out my mirror and tail light. Could you by any chance tell me where I could find an auto repair shop around here?"

"You're obviously not from here if you walked all the way over here to ask that," she responded. Her voice sounded cold but there was also a touch of pain. Her black eyes were darting left and right like she was expecting to be attacked at any moment.

"No mam, I'm not," Eliot grinned wider, "Could ya give me a hand?"

"The repair shop is just a block down the road that way," she said. She was pointing towards the left where the hitter had made note of the repair shop and got the idea. She was helpful even if she had an evil vibe going on. "They have the best prices in town and will help you out anyway they can."

"Thank you very much," he bowed.

"Mom," another voice called from the door. Then the boy's head popped out from behind the brunette. He stared at the hitter for a matter of minutes before he finally said something. "Eliot, what are you doing here?"

"Somebody broken parts, kid," Eliot replied.

"Henry, you know him?" the woman asked. There was concern on her features and she actually looked upset. Worry was also weighing down her eyebrows. She actually looked like Sophie in that moment the hitter wanted to laugh.

"Yeah," the kid nodded, "His name is Eliot. He's a friend of Sophie's."

"You're a friend of my sister's?" the woman asked.

"Eliot Spencer," the hitter introduced himself. He held out his hand for the shake.

"Regina Mills," she replied taking the offered hand firmly. Her grip was surprisingly strong. "What brings you to our little town?"

"Sophie told us to check it out," Eliot responded, "We didn't realize she had any family until we arrived. Do you mind…?"

"Actually I do," Regina growled. She was pushing Henry behind her and her eyes flashed with danger. He said the wrong thing and they both knew it.

"Well, it was nice to meet you," Eliot bowed again, "I hope we can see each other again some time."

"Oh I highly doubt that," Regina purred, "My sister and I had a little spat several years ago. We don't get along."

Eliot nodded at the warning tone and quickly left before anything else could happen. He made a huge mistake coming there and it was under Nate's orders. The mastermind wasn't thinking clearly if he thought that work. No, he was emotionally compromised and that always ended badly for them. Well, except for that time at the dam but that was probably a once in a lifetime experience. Especially considering it was the grifter who was causing the emotional instability.

%

"I hope you're happy," Sophie spit towards the mastermind as spitefully as possible. Then she stuck her tongue out of her mouth for good measure.

She and Nate had been fighting on and off for the past few hours. He was mad that she didn't tell him about her sister. She was mad that he was actually mad about it. Now he was trying to interrogate her every five seconds, the whole reason behind why she didn't tell him, and demanding answers. Their day was being wasted because of his stupid need to know everything and be in complete control.

"Nobody is on coms because they can't stand our constant fighting," she finished.

The glare Nate sent her way was a bit unsettling. He actually looked like he wanted to kill her. He even wrung his hands together in his frustration. The grifter gulped at that. It was worse than she had originally thought. He was beyond upset. He was on the verge of terrified.

"Don't you dare blame this on me," he growled. His voice was dripping ice.

"I'm a grifter," she replied. The fight was gone from her now. She hoped he would realize it and actually calm down. He needed to be able to think clearly for the rest of their con. "If I told you everything about me, I wouldn't be a grifter anymore. I'd just be somebody who lies for a living. You'll stop being interested."

"The knowledge that you had living family members would have been enough," he sighed. Ah, so he knew she couldn't fight anymore. "You know how much I hate surprises."

"Well, you wouldn't exactly want me around if I didn't surprise you," she winked towards him. She was going for flirtatious but she must have gotten it wrong. His face fell and he looked at her worriedly.

"I need to know the relationship between you and your sister," he explained.

Sophie bowed her head and focused on the mirror by the door. She could see in the reflection that his worried gaze was locked solely on the back of her head. Then he took note of the mirror and their eyes locked. A silent conversation started. Another argument, of course, but this time it had no heat. It was just a discussion of worry and fear.

Finally Sophie caved in. She turned her gaze towards the floor and took a deep breath. "We had a spat ages ago," she explained, "I don't even remember what it's about and I wish I did. I got drunk after she kicked me out of town so it's all still very fuzzy at best."

Nate made a tiny grunt noise in the back of his throat. It was his silent go on. Then his hand was rubbing the gap between her shoulders to get her to relax a bit. It felt nice to know he was there for her.

"She doesn't ever want to see me again," she finished, "I broke her heart."

"How?" He nudged gently.

"I sided against her," Sophie shrugged. Tears were suddenly in her eyes and it was getting very hard to breathe all of a sudden. Nate drew her into his chest for support. "I betrayed her just like I betrayed you."

"It was a mistake, Soph," Nate hummed into her hair, "nothing more. You could have told us that. You could have told me."

"I was afraid of what she would do if you knew," Sophie sighed, "Regina was the mayor. She had all the power and she knew how to use it. I didn't want her to use that power against you. Keeping you in the dark was the best thing I could think of. I'm sorry."

"Shh," Nate pressed a light kiss to her hair, "It's alright. We'll fix this in the morning."

"We don't really have a reason to be here anymore," the grifter cried, "Regina's not in power anymore."

"But Mr. Gold still is," Nate explained, "This town needs us more than even it could possibly know."

"More than we could know too," Sophie joked, "hmm."